Czech Public Finance Reform: The Next Parliamentary

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 000939 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL EZ ECON EFIN SUBJECT: Czech Public Finance Reform: The Next Parliamentary Battle Ref: A. Prague 698, B. Prague 359 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: PM Topolanek's government faces a key challenge this week, when its public finance reform bill undergoes second reading in the lower chamber of the parliament. Topolanek will have to bring order to his fractious coalition government and to his own party, the ODS, which remains split between supporters of the government reform proposal, and those pushing for more radical reforms. Since Topolanek has done little after the bill's first reading on June 7 to forge a consensus within his government, this week's negotiations in the parliament, and especially in the backrooms, will be decisive. Although Topolanek seems to have stepped back from an earlier pledge to tie his government's future to the reform bill's passage, the bill's failure would increase pressure on the fragile coalition and undermine Topolanek's hold on power. End Summary. ¶2. (U) The government reform package as submitted to the Chamber of Deputies in late May and passed in the first reading is a comprehensive bill, which would modify 43 existing laws and abolish two. With its primary aim of balancing public finances, the reform package focuses on three main fields - taxes, social benefits and health care. Another big issue - the pension system - would be addressed in a separate bill, which the government promised to submit by the end of November. The specific contents of the reform package are significant on their own merits, but even more so when considered in the context of Czech aspirations to join the eurozone. The new public finance reform package seeks to reinstate fiscal discipline and push the deficit down to 2.9% in 2009 (ref A). ¶3. (U) The reform bill passed in the parliament's first reading on June 7. On August 8, the Budget Committee met to discuss the reform bill. Due to the absence of one ODS MP, who was on vacation, the bill failed to win the committee's approval. The decision by the Budget Committee is not binding, but it strikes a psychological blow to the coalition and raises more questions about ODS party discipline. This is ironic, since the driving force behind the reform package is the right-wing ODS. Calls for tighter public spending and a thorough reform of the taxation, social and pension systems, as well as health care were core elements of the ODS program and election campaign before the 2006 parliamentary 
elections. However, having formed a coalition government with two junior parties of a more centrist orientation and relying on two votes of Social Democratic renegades, the ODS has had to compromise and make several concessions on its reform ideas. Led by the ODS MP Vlastimil Tlusty, former minister of finance, some of the ODS parliamentarians have rejected the concessions and have called for more radical changes which would be more in line with the party program. In June, they stated their disapproval with the government bill criticizing mainly the proposed tax reform. While they supported the government reform bill during the first reading in early June, they conditioned their support in the next two readings on the government's acceptance of their position. ¶4. (U) While the ODS rebels criticize the reform package as too soft, some members of the junior coalition party KDU-CSL criticize it for being too harsh and insensitive to the needy. For example, some members of the party are pushing for an exemption from the proposed medical co-payments for children below 15 years and pregnant women, and change the structure of parental benefits. However, many observers speculate that KDU-CSL deputies will support the coalition and vote for the reform package now that the KDU-CSL chairman and DPM Jiri Cunek has been cleared of bribery charges. Opposition leaders and some political commentators allege that Topolanek secured KDU-CSL support by influencing the judicial process in Cunek's favor. ¶5. (U) The only coalition partner without any substantial internal opposition to the government draft are the Greens, who are more or less satisfied with the reform bill. They would like to see ecological taxes in the draft, but this will not be a show-stopper for the party. Even if the government coalition gets the votes of all its deputies, it will still need at least one more vote from the opposite side since the coalition controls only 100 out of 200 seats in the lower chamber. It is widely assumed that both Social Democrats who have thus far enabled the government to remain in power, would vote for the reform bill provided that some of their suggestions were adopted. ¶6. (SBU) Hence the main problem remains inside the ODS. PM Topolanek will not meet with the ODS parliamentary caucus, however, until August 13, the evening before the opening of the extraordinary plenary session of the parliament. ODS MP Jan Schwippel, who belongs to Tlusty's faction, told Emboffs that it might be Topolanek's intention to push the rebels into a corner and limit their maneuvering space. While its leader Vlastimil Tlusty has not revealed his intentions, others are seeking to hammer out a compromise. Last week, another member of the Tlusty group, MP Michal Doktor offered a proposal, which essentially splits the difference between the government and Tlusty's versions. According to the media, PM Topolanek supports Doktor's proposal and is trying to sell PRAGUE 00000939 002 OF 002 it to coalition deputies, and especially the Tlusty faction within the ODS. Tlusty's own decision before the plenary will be vital because the group will very likely follow his lead in the voting. Many observers believe that Tlusty would vote for the compromise proposal, but only if he scores some victory to save face before the voters. ¶7. (SBU) Comment: The real battle will take place at the plenary session over the next two weeks and in the parliament's backrooms, as Topolanek works to hold off opposition attacks and to line up support for the reform bill and his government. If the reform package passes, the government would be able to submit a budget in September that meets its EU obligations and tackles the deteriorating public finance situation. More importantly, the government would score an important political victory, in what will be one of the first significant legislative fights it has faced since winning the vote of confidence in January. ¶8. (SBU) Comment Continued: If it fails, the Topolanek government would face an uncertain future. While the original declaration that the government would resign if the package were not approved quietly disappeared in the course of time, opposition pressure on this government would no doubt increase. Although not fully ready for a political takeover, the CSSD has intensified lately its efforts to change its image and reform its structures with the aim to appeal to young and educated voters. Moreover, the ODS rebels would likely call for an extraordinary party congress, and the reelection of Mirek Topolanek as chair would be highly improbable. The possibility of a grand coalition could once again resurface. Many Czechs have bad memories of the last time the two largest parties cooperated. The opposition agreement of 1998-2002, during which ODS supported a CSSD-led minority government, was a time when many Czech voters lost trust in their political leaders, who were all too willing to engage in backroom deals and outright bribery. ODS MP Jan Schwippel told Emboffs that a grand coalition might not be such a bad thing because it would "assure the reelection of Vaclav Klaus as president and approval of the radar in the Czech Republic," two key priorities for many ODS members. Schwippel was therefore confirming, perhaps unwittingly, that backroom deals would also be at the foundation of any new grand coalition. THOMPSON-JONES